Ars Poetica

I believe in time
in the renewing beauty of sunrises
and the dance of light
with every sunset

I am in awe of water
and the chemistry
of hydrogen and oxygen
that brings about life

I go nowhere
without my trusted companions:
My feet to carry me forward
My eyes to capture the world
My pen and notebook to speak my life

It takes getting lost to find your way

I have faith in love
—that of my family—
and trust
that we can work through
the hurt of harm
and heal our hearts
for our love comes from
a place of ancestral care

I live by the light of India.Arie
the call of Dillard’s (re)membering
the reverberations of Etta’s “At Last”

I dance
(in my mind)
to Hartman’s hauntingly beautiful prose
Solange’s architectural lines
and womanly curves

I feel the jewel tones
and contours
of Ringgold’s Tar Beach
and the promise
of world-making

“The writing does not create us
but in the act of writing
we are”*

I am my voice
my body
my wandering spirit

*Yagelski